BBC must change to survive, Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw says

The BBC must change to survive and be more “sensitive” about its impact on the
rest of the media and to the views of the public, Ben Bradshaw, the Culture
Secretary, said.

Ben Bradshaw, the Culture SecretaryPhoto: EDDIE MULHOLLAND

By Urmee Khan, Digital and Media Correspondent

7:00AM BST 30 Sep 2009

Mr Bradshaw told the Labour conference that the Government would never “sacrifice” the BBC, but said it had to appreciate the impact of its “size and power” on competitors.

The Government and the BBC are in an ongoing row about the corporation’s funding and future and there was further controversy at the weekend when Andrew Marr, the BBC presenter, asked Gordon Brown whether he took pills to help him “get through”.

Several high-profile party figures have criticised Marr for asking the Prime Minister about the rumours surrounding his health, which Mr Brown has denied.

Mr Bradshaw told delegates yesterday that Labour was “committed to the BBC and the values of public service broadcasting” and would “never sacrifice the BBC on the altar of free-market dogma”.

“But like all successful organisations the BBC must change in order to survive,” he said. “It must be more sensitive to the views of the public — you who pay for it — and it must be more sensitive to the impact its power and size have on the rest of the media.”

Related Articles

In a speech earlier this month, Mr Bradshaw, a former BBC journalist, argued that the corporation should not expand further, should cut its licence fee and that it was right to examine what it paid its stars and executives. He also called for the BBC Trust, the corporation’s governing body, to be scrapped.

However, he was more conciliatory yesterday, telling delegates that anyone who had watched the news in America or continental Europe could only be “extremely grateful” for the BBC.

He said plans to use part of the licence fee to fund regional ITV news, the so-called “top-slicing” opposed by BBC management, would help local media survive.

“Good quality local news is vital for the health of our democracy, and we face losing it completely unless something is done,” Mr Bradshaw said.

Last week, Ofcom said the 15 ITV regional network licences could have a funding deficit of £38?million-£64?million by the end of the digital switchover in 2012

Mr Bradshaw said: “We are the only party that is guaranteeing high quality news on ITV in the English regions, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and saying how we are paying for it. Our solution and other measures we are taking will help local newspapers too.” A BBC spokesman declined to comment.